When you look into how you work on a desktop or laptop nowadays, you’d probably find you do most of your work on a browser.
When before we used to send emails via software like Outlook, now many of us work on emails using browser via products like GMail and custom domains running on online services provided by Google and Microsoft.
When before we had to work on documents and share files through local company networks or via USBs or CDs, now many of us use office suites online like Google Drive or Office 365. Apart from the ability to work from anywhere, these services also have built-in collaboration and file sharing.
When before we used to call up colleagues through internal company phone systems or PBX (remember extension numbers?), now we collaborate via chat systems like Slack or even Facebook Messenger.
With all these services going online, many of us end up working with several browser tabs or windows open. At times, you might end up accidentally closing a tab because it occupies the same browser instance of a site you want to leave. The arrangement also leaves your work windows alongside productivity sinkholes like Twitter or Facebook.
That is where the Station app is useful. It organizes hundreds of web applications and services into a single app and makes them accessible via a smart dock.
Station was also built as “as a work only, distraction-free platform.” Apart from the interface that encourages you to focus on your work window, it also centralizes the notifications, the bane of modern connectivity.
Rather than get buzzed everytime somebody shares a file on Google Drive or sends an email or even a chat message, your notifications are listed in a single central window. You also have the option to snooze notifications for a period of time or turn these off by toggling a Do Not Disturb button.
Station has all the important work web apps that your company probably already uses: GMail or the soon-to-be-sunsetted Inbox by Gmail, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Facebook Workplace, Hangouts, Trello, Asana, among hundreds of others.
Tools like Google Keep, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, even SimpleNote are there. For messaging, there’s Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Chat, Skype, WeChat, and even Telegram.
Station also supports Android Messages, which allows you to send and receive messages on your computer via a connected Android device.
Station is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. I work on all three platforms and this makes Station indispensable. Whereas before I’d use different apps to use the same set of online services on different operating systems, now I just use Station. This is how I use OneNote, which has native apps for Windows and Mac but not for Linux.
It also allows you to use multiple accounts for services that allow it. That way, you can have Station open your personal email along with your office address.
